While the flame of the Paris Olympic Games went out on August 11, 2024, that of the Paralympic Games will soon be lit. How can you make the most of this competition which promises to be just as magical? The Women’s Journal tells you everything.
Nostalgic for the Olympic Games, sporting exploits and jumbled emotions? Don’t put away your flag and your blue-white-red makeup so quickly. Act II of the Parisian sporting summer will soon begin. From August 28 to September 8, the Paralympic Games take over. 4,400 athletes from all over the world and practicing 22 different sports will compete to try to win Olympic gold. Want to take part in this great celebration? Follow the leader.
An opening ceremony in the heart of Paris
The Paralympic Games will be officially launched on August 28 with a grand opening ceremony. As with the Olympic Games, the organizers decided that it would be held in the heart of the city. This time, it will not be the Seine, but the Place de la Concorde and the bottom of the Champs-Élysées which will be used as a setting. The opportunity to greet the 184 delegations present to compete for medals during the competition. The closing ceremony will take place at the Stade de France on September 8.
The same infrastructures as those of the Olympic Games
The gardens of Versailles for para horse riding, the Grand Palais for armchair fencing and para taekwondo, blind football under the Eiffel Tower… The different events of the Paralympic Games will take place in the same emblematic locations as those of the Olympic Games. If you missed the first leg, there’s still time to catch up.
A ticket office that is riding the Olympic wave
Ticketing for the Paralympic Games opened in October 2023, but many tickets for the different sessions are still available. Discovery or family pack, many low-cost options have been put in place by the organization so that as many spectators as possible go to encourage the para sportsmen. But be careful, the craze for the Olympic Games has already passed this way. Certain events such as armchair fencing at the Grand Palais or para-riding at Versailles have been victims of their own success. However, it is possible to obtain one of the precious keys to attend the events by going to the resale platform.
Rekindle the fire
What about the Olympic cauldron? Will it continue to rise in the Paris sky? Located in the heart of the Tuileries garden, it should be lit again on August 28, during the opening ceremony. Before this great return, a Paralympic torch relay, starting from Stoke Mandeville, in the United Kingdom, will pass through cities such as Lyon, Montpellier, Saint-Malo, Deauville, Blois and Troyes before arriving in Paris. More than 1,000 flame scouts will carry it starting August 25.
The end of Club France?
During the Olympic period, the fan zones set up in Paris and throughout France were immensely successful. Good news: they won’t close! Most are even open in the period between the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. Workshops, sports classes and activities will continue to take place.
Club France, an emblematic venue for this sporting fortnight, will also make its grand return on August 29 for the Paralympic Games. Want to follow the events on the big screen and celebrate the French medalists? The ticket office is already open. And if you had to pay 5 euros during the Olympic Games, access is free for the Paralympic Games. Crazy atmosphere in perspective.
